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Buzz Out Loud 673: Offline is the new online

EPISODE 673

Sanity prevails: IE8 will default to standard-compliant mode http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/ 20080303-sanity-prevails-ie8-will-default-to-standard-compliant-mode.html http://www.news.com/8301-13860_3-9884688-56.html

Survey: Warnings from ISPs could slash file-swapping by 70 percent http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/ 20080303-survey-warnings-from-isps-could-slash-file-swapping-by-70.html

Nokia to bring Microsoft Silverlight-powered experiences to millions of mobile users http://www.nokia.com/A4136001?newsid=1197788

Official Google Mobile Blog: Shifting Google Gears to mobile http://googlemobile.blogspot.com/2008/03/shifting-google-gears-to-mobile.html

What price, Scrabulous? Mergers, acquisitions, venture capital, hedge funds http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/03/04/ scrabulous-founders-look-to-score-big-report-says/?hp

Microsoft offers $100K to … Read more

Subscription music's future, Part 2

Yesterday, I spoke about the history of the subscription music model, its roadblocks, and the major players committed to its success. In part 2 of this feature, I'm going to outline some areas of growth for subscription music, share some comments from Rob Williams of Rhapsody, and take a closer look at Microsoft's approach with their Zune Marketplace.

So far, we're seeing three music device trends that will shape digital music in coming months and years: digital audio on more device types (cell phones, MP3 players, UMPCs, in-car GPS, car stereos, home stereos, laptops, Squeezeboxes, boomboxes, Chumbys, … Read more

Cut the cord with Brother's newest wireless all-in-one printer

With spring just around the corner, it's time to clean up your workspace. To help you clean up your clutter, Brother is releasing two multifunction printers: the MFC-7440N ($249) and the MFC-7840W ($299). Both are significant upgrades to their predecessors, with the MFC-7840W living up to its prefix multifunction name.

The MFC-7840W is the standout product here, it includes all the features you would expect from a high end all-in-one printer, such as a speedy 23 page per minute output, 2400x600 dots per inch resolution, and a 35 sheet auto feeder. We're excited to take a look at … Read more

New ways to input (finally) arriving

We put stuff into computers (and, for that matter, get stuff out) in pretty much the same way we have for a good couple of decades.

Of course, we still use keyboards of a fairly standard design as our primary mechanism to feed words into a computer and mice are well-ensconced as the navigational tool of choice. Over in the gaming world, it's the familiar two-handed game controller that predominates. In fact, I sense that one sees fewer joysticks, steering wheels, various oddball keyboards, and trackballs than one saw in the past. This probably reflects that "productivity" … Read more

Apple falls short of 1,000 movie rentals

Apple fell far short of its goal of rolling out 1,000 movies for rent through the iTunes Store by the end of February.

Macworld's Christopher Breen checked in Friday on Apple's promise, and found that just 351 titles are available to rent through the latest version of Apple TV. If you check the iTunes Store from a Mac or PC, there are 399 movies available to rent. Breen notes that even if you include all the movies available through the iTunes Store, for both purchase and rentals, there are only 770 available.

At Macworld, when Apple CEO … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 672: Spammer in the slammer

Episode 672

Judge: Wikileaks gets its domain name back http://www.news.com/8301-13578_3-9883240-38.html

First spam felony conviction upheld: No free speech to spam http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/ 20080302-first-spam-felony-conviction-upheld-no-free-speech-to-spam.html

Vista prices fall even further http://www.news.com/8301-13860_3-9883961-56.html

Pirates find proper way to crack Vista’s activation schema http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/03/03/0622230

More audiobook publishers drop DRM: Will Audible follow suit? http://www.boingboing.net/2008/03/03/more-audiobook-publi.html

Nine Inch Nails uploads new album on Torrent sites http://torrentfreak.com/nin-uploads-new-album-on-torrent-sites-080303/

Fan-funded music http://blogs.cnet.com/8301-13526_1-9882091-27.html… Read more

Cosmo: Apple stores the place to meet men

I'm not sure this is what Ron Johnson had in mind when he set out to create Apple's chain of retail stores, but recently the shops unexpectedly topped a list of hot spots.

Cosmo says that if you are looking to meet a man, you can't do much better than heading to your nearest Apple store.

The magazine notes that guys are natural gadget lovers and with Apple's sales soaring, "more men than ever are stopping by Apple boutiques."

"The vibe at the stores is conducive to man meeting too: You can check … Read more

Woz: 'I'm trying to figure out a way to make the Air part of my life'

Apple co-founder and sometimes Steve Jobs antagonist Steve Wozniak was characteristically outspoken when talking to reporters this morning in Sydney at a tech conference. According to a transcript posted by APC Magazine, on the subject of the new MacBook Air, Woz minced no words, telling a group of reporters:

"At first, I thought, it's so feature-missing...I burn DVDs a lot to pass files to other people. I watch movies on airplanes. I need one that will go an entire flight and switch batteries, when there's sometimes no power on the plane."

But he liked how … Read more

Subscription music's future, Part 1

Rhapsody launched the first high-profile subscription music service in December 2001, in the middle of a revolution. The first iPod had just hit the shelves, streaming Web radio sites like Live365.com were in full bloom, and the masses were just warming to the idea that they could preview and discover music online. A service like Rhapsody, which promised subscribers unlimited access to its growing music catalog, made music junkies salivate. It also pointed the way to a brave new world where people no longer needed physical or virtual media.

The future didn't go quite as planned, however. Because … Read more